Palestinian journalist and blogger Ismat Abdel Khalik, who was
arrested last week for “insulting” Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas on Facebook, is planning to hold a press conference
Wednesday to talk about her ordeal.

Abdel Khalik, a single mother of two and former university lecturer,
was released from prison earlier this week.

A PA security source said the woman will be charged in court
with “insulting” Abbas by describing him as a traitor and fascist on
her Facebook page. She is also suspected of having called for
disbanding the PA.

It’s not clear at this stage if the PA security forces will allow
Abdel Khalik to hold a press conference.

Abdel Khalik was arrested as part of a PA crackdown on Facebook
users, journalists and bloggers who are critical of the Palestinian
leadership in Ramallah.

In the past few weeks four Palestinians have been arrested by the PA
security forces for exposing corruption and publishing critical
comments on Facebook.

The Palestinians were arrested on the basis of a 50-year-old
Jordanian law that was once effective in the West Bank and which
bans “extending one’s tongue” against the monarch.